COMMUNITY RELATIONS
COMMITTEE
À
STRATEGY
August 2010
CITY COUNCIL
FOCUS AREA
Housing and Neighborhood
Development
SERVE THE CUSTOMER
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CRC opened 3 new fair housing cases as follows:
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Complainant alleges discrimination in terms and conditions of rental based on national
origin (Hispanic).
Complainant alleges retaliatory discrimination.
Complainant alleges discriminatory financing based on sex (Female) and race (African
American).
CRC closed 6 fair housing cases as follows:
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Strengthen
Neighborhoods
Complaint that alleged discrimination in terms and conditions based on race (African
American) was closed due to a no cause finding.
Complaint that alleged discrimination in terms and conditions and refusal to rent based
on race (Caucasian) was closed due to a no cause finding
Complaint that alleged discrimination in terms and conditions of rental based on national
origin (Hispanic) was withdrawn by the complainant.
Complaint that alleged discrimination in terms and conditions and refusal to rent based
on race (African American) was closed due to a no cause finding.
Complaint that alleged discrimination in terms and conditions of rental based on race
(Black) and national origin (Mali) was closed due to a no cause finding.
Complaint that alleged discrimination in terms and conditions of rental based on disability
and family status was closed with Complainant receiving $175.
CRC staff provided 2 fair housing training sessions to the following organizations/groups: Job
Bank Participants and Adelanti. A total of 36 persons were trained.
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RUN THE BUSINESS
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Develop
Collaborative
Solutions
Enhance
Customer
Service
CRC staff attended 9 police chain of command review hearings as a voting member of the process. CRC Executive Director attended a meeting of the Gang Reentry Intervention Team (GRIT) Steering Committee. •
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CRC Executive Director met with representatives of Neighborhood and Business Services and the City Attorney’s Office to discuss the details of a possible Fair Housing complaint that was filed as a result of concerns around the City’s Housing Locational Policy Changes. CRC Executive Director continues to work as planning coordinator for the Annual Meeting and Training Conference of the National Association of Human Rights Workers (NAHRW) which is scheduled for October 27‐30, 2010 in Greensboro, NC. CRC Executive Director participated in a video to discuss issues in Charlotte around education, housing, health care, employment, transportation and social capital. This video is being produced by the Genesis Project. CRC Executive Director met with 60 staff persons of the City’s Engineering Department to update them on changes to the City’s Citizen Stakeholder Process. CRC Executive Director attended the annual retreat of the board of directors for the Council on Aging. The purpose of the retreat was to work with other board members on a critical review of the Council on Aging mission, vision and operations. CRC Executive Director served as a facilitator at the Mecklenburg Ministries Clergy Luncheon on Affordable Housing in Charlotte Mecklenburg. CRC Executive Director met with local NAACP, the Concord Police Department, Gaston Police Department, Albemarle Police Department, CMPD and others to discuss concerns about African American teenagers being mistreated at Concord Mills and Northlake Mall. The purpose of the meeting was to work together to develop a plan on what children should do when confronted by police officers as well as the role the police officers have in the process. •
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CRC Executive Director and staff served as facilitators for Neighborhood and Business Services Locational Policy Public Forums held on August 4th at Vance High School and on August 9th at Mount Carmel Baptist Church. CRC Executive Director and staff have had several meetings with staff from Neighborhood and Business Services regarding the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice. On August 23rd, they attended a City Council/Public Hearing on the Analysis of Impediments. 2
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CRC Executive Director and CRC staff met with members of the Delegation of Indonesia to share experiences with mediation processes and training and to learn from each other about successful projects that have been put into place that promote community harmony. CRC Executive Director facilitated the annual CRC Member and Staff Retreat on August 14th. The purpose of the retreat was to discuss CRC’s history, mission, vision, and to establish goals for the upcoming year. CRC Executive Director attended the Annual Conference of the International Association of Official Human Rights Associations in Mobile, Alabama. During the conference, he served as a panelist in a session entitled, “State of Assault on Civil Rights Agencies: Strategies to Combat the Elimination of Agencies or Reorganization of Agencies due to Budget Cuts and the Economy. CRC Executive Director held several meetings with staff of the County Manager’s Office, Mecklenburg Ministries, and the Community Building Initiative to develop a citizen engagement process which will be designed to solicit the interest and concerns of county residents and stakeholders relative to the future of the County, and to use the information and data gathered to create a community vision which strategically identifies priorities for Mecklenburg County. The Dispute Settlement Program (DSP) mediated 58 cases and conciliated 31 worthless check cases saving 178 criminal justice hours and $17,800 in taxpayer dollars. $2,650.33 was recovered for area merchants. $1,500 in reduced court fees were collected for the state. The Dispute Settlement Program (DSP) surveys clients in an effort to maintain and improve service delivery. Prior to mediation, 76% of clients believed going to court was their only option for resolving their dispute, 24% of clients believed their only option was to ignore their problem and 0% of clients believed their dispute could have been resolved by talking with the other party. After mediation, 25% of clients stated they would choose to go to court if they were involved in a future dispute and 0% of clients stated they would ignore future problems while 75% stated they would utilize mediation or talking to solve their problems. DEVEL
Achieve Positive
DEVELOP EMPLOYEES
Employee
Climate
• CRC staff participated in 56 hours of career development during the month of August. 3